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Looks like Nick is going to have to update his WAC graphic. The conference announced Thursday that Texas-Pan American will join the conference next season, becoming the 8th member of the league.
It looked to all reasonable people that the WAC was on life support with the plug falling out of the wall just a few months ago. But the recent additions of almost every school that was residing in the Great West conference has seemed to have stalled the flat line.
Earlier this month, Chicago State joined the league, and prompting us to believe that this was just a desperate to save conference in name only. The league was already dropping its money sport of football for next season.
Come 2013, the league will consist of Cal State Bakersfield, Chicago State, Grand Canyon University, Idaho, New Mexico State, Seattle, Texas-Pan American and Utah Valley State.
Idaho will be leaving soon, and New Mexico State will probably decide to consolidate its sports -- they do play football, if in name only -- under one banner. The league isn't out of the woods yet, but this was a big step in preserving its name a little longer.